11 Cosy Games to Keep You Warm This Winter

It’s that time of year again! The weather is colder, days are getting shorter, the spooky season is behind us and the festive season has well and truly begun. It’s the perfect time to stay indoors and play the heck out of some video games. Here are 11 of the cosiest games to stay at home and curl up with, whether alone or with friends!

Night in the woods

Night in the Woods has an excellent Autumnal aesthetic which is perfect for a day when the weather isn’t quite as agreeable outside your window. First things first, Night in the Woods is incredibly pleasing to look at. The originality of its art style, its endearing anthropomorphic characters, and gorgeous colour palette all make Possum Springs a wonderful place to chill out, gossip with the townsfolk, and uncover some juicy secrets. The unique dialogue in Night in the Woods, with its super-expressive speech bubbles and authentic conversations, really lets you inhabit Mae’s world and be friends with her friends. Night in the Woods also boasts a killer story to indulge in while you have the time to kill over the holidays.

What better way to spend an entire day doing absolutely nothing at all than watching people live their little lives with your divine (or otherwise ill-informed) guidance? Those cold, dark days will fly by once your body clock syncs up with Sim time! Just think, while your sim is getting up and going to work, you’re sat at home eating quality street and playing video games. It’s a wonderful way to propel yourself straight to hibernation station, which we all know is the whole point of getting a break from work, right?

3. Wii Sports Resort

Maybe you’ve had enough of hibernation. Maybe you want to start working off that Christmas dinner, but the weather outside is frightful and a trip to the gym is definitely not on the cards. Whipping up some serious early noughties motion-control nostalgia, Wii Sports Resort is a fun way to get everyone up and moving during the slouchy season. The roster of sports includes bowling, table tennis and canoeing to name but a few and with two-player multiplayer, there’s no excuse to not get all your relatives involved in a particularly heated bowling battle. It’ll certainly add some spice to your family get-together!

4. Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Animal Crossing is one of the most relaxing and continuously seasonally appropriate game series there is. For this list, we’re talking New Leaf, but any animal crossing game is definitely cosy enough. There’s nothing more heart-warming and wholesome than helping out your adorable animal friends, listening to the sound of the waves lapping against the shore, or making sweet money selling the fossils you dug up. It’s also the best way to enjoy some authentic winter weather if wishing for snow hasn’t worked out for you. With Jingle the Reindeer coming to town, the chance to build a snowman every day, and holiday-appropriate furniture to decorate your house with, New Leaf provides a pocket winter wonderland experience for players of all ages. Don’t forget to warm yourself up with a coffee from The Roost while you’re in town!

5. Year Walk

The holidays are here, the spooky season is long gone, but that doesn’t mean you should let your guard down! There’s definitely still room for some seasonal scares and Simogo’s Year Walk is the perfect way to spice up those cold winter nights. Take a midnight walk through a Swedish forest, chasing a vision of your future through snow drifts and mysteries! Year Walk’s gorgeous wintery, arty graphics and snowy soundscapes are wonderfully paired with intriguing puzzles, interdimensional experiences and a sprinkling of creepy characters. This is a title you’ll want to play over and over to uncover every little secret. What better time than the holidays?

6. Little Inferno

What could possibly be cosier than a fire? A fire that doesn’t contribute to carbon emissions and lets you burn an infinite amount of stuff of course! Old photographs? Burn them. Someone else’s credit card you found? Watch it sizzle. A miniature sun? Fight fire with fire. Little Inferno’s charming graphics and sense of humour will keep you entertained for hours and there’s nothing more comforting than the sound of a crackling fire. Just maybe try and avoid burning the miniature school bus if you don’t want to ruin the atmosphere with screaming… the terrible screaming…

7. Ilomilo

Here we have another throwback to the Autumnal season that we all love and miss now that it’s much darker and much colder. This cute little puzzler has you navigate a topsy-turvy world in a bid to reunite two adorable friends, Ilo and Milo. Their simple but sweet storyline will make you swoon and captures that festive feeling of reuniting with relatives and friends. You won’t believe that the soundtrack for this sweet little title was created by the same man behind Year Walk’s atmospheric music, but it’s equally as wonderful and catchy as heck. There’s even a dedicated ‘Autumn Story’ mode for those who really have a hankering for those bygone days of leafy goodness.

8. Super Mario Party

Another one to get the family together and then immediately cause irreparable rifts between relatives! Super Mario Party is the latest release in the Mario Party franchise and allows you to play 4-player vs mode to irk the in-laws, pair up against your parents, or even play online against your distant cousins… It’s all to play for and the mini-games are splendid. Mario Party really is one of the best ways to get everyone involved in something together, young or old. You can also pair up two Switch systems to play in Toad’s Rec Room, just in case your relatives brought theirs too.

9. Katamari Damacy Reroll

Need something to brighten up your dull winter days? How about rainbows, royalty, and rolling up a whole new sky-full of stars? In this vibrant remaster of Katamari Damacy for Nintendo Switch, take control of the teeny tiny Prince, son of the King of All Cosmos, and roll up everything in your path with your super-adhesive Katamari. From cream puffs to crocodiles to gas stations, once you’ve started rolling, you just won’t be able to stop. The satisfaction of watching your Katamari get bigger and bigger, the quirky humour and ridiculously catchy music with fully voiced lyrics – it’s all good and it’s all playable in hand-held or in docked mode. Katamari Damacy Reroll is a colourful and addictive way to pass the time. Just watch the hours roll by…

10. Dear Esther

Winter walks are lovely, but sometimes it’s just that little bit too cold. You may want to take in some dramatic landscapes but aren’t prepared to face the bitter weather today. Walking simulators are the answer and the most beautiful walking sim by far is Dear Esther. Wandering across this moody Hebridean island and taking in its breath-taking visuals all while listening to philosophical, wonderfully delivered narration is one of the most soul-cleansing experiences you can have in a video game. Dear Esther tells a haunting story in such a clever way, letting the player piece together clues around the island and snippets from the narrator’s stories all while progressing through one of the most visually impressive landscapes in recent gaming history. If you want to escape without leaving your house, Dear Esther is where you should be heading.

11. Hearthstone

Finally, a cosy card game to keep you in good spirits all throughout the holiday season. Nothing says Christmas quite like a table-top game and Hearthstone is an absolute classic. It’s simply a joy to play. Easy to pick up and intuitive, it’s equally as enjoyable for long-time fans as well as total beginners. With its jolly music, pleasing art-style, and a good old sprinkle of magic, Hearthstone is a favourite all year round, but we think it’s best played under a blanket with a mug of hot chocolate.

That’s it for this super cosy list! We hope these games come in handy throughout the Winter months and help you hibernate. Happy holidays!

Rosalind Griffiths is a full time gamer, geek and Creative Writing student. Raised on Nintendo, when she's not earning gold trophies in Mariokart 8 or freshening up in Inkopolis, she's writing songs/poems/short stories, or watching cartoons and Lets Play videos.